Principle of Success - Learn From The Mistakes of Others

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So one true key to success is to learn from the mistakes of others... don't repeat a mistake and learn a lesson that someone else has already learned and can pass on to you!

So post what you think is your single biggest mistake either in your music career or your life and what you learned from it or would do differently next time.


For me, I think my biggest mistake was not coming up with a concrete step-by-step plan to achieve my goals at an earlier age. I kind of just thought opportunities would fall into my lap... and some did, but I was unprepared to capitalize on them because I hadn't planned ahead.

If I had it to do over, I would create (physically write out) a step-by-step plan, including specific goals and dates for achieving each one, as young and early as I possibly could.

---------- Post added at 07:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:01 AM ----------

Wow... 142 views and not a single reply.

Are you afraid to give up your "secrets" or have you just never made any mistakes?
 
Biggest mistakes... I think the personal choices are always the worst ones that effect your career:

- Not learning music theory earlier on or at all.
- Not learning how to play an instrument.
- Not taking the time to learn from other people. Example: In the studio getting recorded? Ask questions and watch what the engineer is doing.

Well I believe the theme is learning. I remember when I first started out, all I wanted to do was make music but the music never had the depth I imagined in my mind. I thought that musicality or understanding would come about naturally while creating. But not really in my opinion. It's easier just to study and read. A lot of people seem to forget that they need to be able to communicate with others about how to make music properly. How many of us know that we often play the 808 kick in lengths of dotted quater notes? How many of us care? But we really should!

Another mistake is thinking that singing or knowing one instrument is enough. Real musicianship is valuable. A pianist , guitarist, or drummer... will get more gigs or contacts than a singer than a producer making beats on his netbook.

I just saw the new poster for 2012 Jazz Fest and Trombone Shorty was on it... And I was happy for him but envious too.

Then I saw the poster for Congo Square and they had Shamar Allen on it... Same feeling.

Real musicians that maybe no one outside of New Orleans will know of but the two have been imortalized in paintings that hundreds of thousands will see when they come the city.

Another mistake is thinking that you have to be in the national spotlight in order to be sucessful in music. Many really have wasted a lot of time trying to be known across nationally... when all they needed to do was get hot at home. I think people burn themselves out like that too. Look at Big Freedia getting on Jimmy Kimbel and doing bounce live in a national scene after years of working in New Orleans. Some people hating cause he gay or maybe just cause it's bounce, but at the end of the day the results remain cause he bust that ass for a good 10 years or so doing music.


Back up all your music on a disc or back up hard drive. That's a big mistake I made. The equipment we use can go out on us and you maybe able to replace the hardware but why would you want to replicate or risk losing your whole collection of intellectial property. That's a risk no one should run. It's not even by lack of common sense ... sometimes you just put things off.


Be prepared. If this is what you want to do... Always stay ready to go. I just feel like there are people who talk a lot and being prepared is a way to get noticed. That way no one can call you out for talk bull. This business is full of liers and bullshiters that will tell you what they think you want to hear. Why? Cause they don't think you gonna follow up or that they'll ever see you more than twice if once more again. A guy once told me to holler at him if I was ever in his city... A year later I emailed him a reply with the follow up with the previous email below... went to New York had a meeting. Be Prepared.


Limit the amount of people you work with closely. There is a thing of spreading yourself too thin.

Avoid having kids to early.

Get a job that will fund your passion but not take time away from it. I mean if you working 6 - 12's ...you got one day to do music... and that might not be enough. Who knows? That's just one of those thing...

That's all I got for now.
 
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Premature erapulation. Puttin myself in arenas I wasn't ready for. Beside that, being insecure about my music and assuming that cus cats got a head start on me they must be better or I must be lacking. This lead to me belittling my talents, giving my work away for free and a lot of other artists taking advantage. This however, didn't change when my talents improved. Because I was so down on myself I never reassessed my talents and I went through much pain
 
what I'm going to continue to do is [not have kids at the age of 21]. been pretty successful with that thus far.


s'all I got for now guys.
 
not learning any music theory, or instrument sooner....IT'S SO MUCH FUN!!!
not taking singing lessons....not so much fun raight now...lol!

not mingling with local artists and.....****em...hehehe!
 
things not to do:
take advice from non successful people
quit

things to do:
follow your goal despite what everyone says or what the odds are
have confidence
work your 4ss off
if you can't find a way, search one, if you can't find one, build one
 
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